ONE CONTINUOUS LINE! | Can you Draw in Cursive? | Drawing without lifting the Pen

Today, I’m going to be attempting to do a continuous line drawing, or it’s also called a continuous contour, or I’ve also heard it as the one line challenge or, how I call it, [giggles] drawing in cursive. So, I started off just in my sketchbook doing some quick, like, from my mind contour drawing. So, basically, drawing how I would usually, but only thinking of the lines and connecting them, you know, so that it would be a continuous line. I’m doing this mainly because I hadn’t drawn that day, so I needed to warm up and also because I had never done a continuous line drawing before. Well, actually, I have done one like eight years ago. So… [giggles] I feel like it’s safe to say that I don’t have a lot of experience with this. So I wanted to practice and see what I could accomplish just giving myself, like, free reign and not worry about it turning out too great and the other thing is: I’ve looked into continuous contour drawing and they’re meant to be imperfect. Like, that is sort of their charm and they’re also made to help you improve your observational skills, so like looking at references and things. So, these first ones that I’m doing – I didn’t have a reference. This was just me… uhm… you know trying to just wrap my head around being – not lifting my hand up because… Let me tell you: that’s very, very difficult, because I don’t know if you’ve ever drawn before but I’m gonna bet that you usually pick up your hand. So, it’s like it’s this constant battle with your brain and your hand. You’re like: don’t lift it up. No, no, no. No. No, don’t do it. Don’t do it. So it’s very much just trying to teach myself to do it and, yeah, trying to wrap my head around what lines can connect without looking too weird and, like, what parts really make sense to connect as well? And it doesn’t really matter is what I’ve learned that – it doesn’t – like, you can really connect any line and as long as it’s not, like, cutting, like, a diagonal shape across the face, that doesn’t make any sense, you probably can get away with it. And then this one actually, I accidentally lift up the pen, so then I grabbed a different color one, because I wanted to, like, finish it up a little bit. So, that orange color is actually a second attempt. And then this next one is from my memory as well or I guess my imagination and I started with the eyebrow and moved down to the eyeball and I just felt like I should be better at this that than I was. I don’t know I was having a really, really hard time, and I was getting a little bit frustrated. I’m not gonna lie. Uh, it’s just something about it, like, and this is the reason I didn’t, like, trans- start this sketch on, like, a whole new paper yet: just because I just really didn’t feel comfortable. But I feel like this is definitely one of my best: I really enjoyed the way the turtleneck came out and, like, the jaw line turned out really well. And I think one of the biggest struggles is definitely, like, not being able to see under your hand and you can’t lift up your hand to see what you’re working with and you kind of just have to trust your instincts and just draw those lines. So, that was another one and then this next one, oh my gosh! It’s these, like, creepy evil doll eyes or something. This one was quite enjoyable to make though. I’m not gonna lie. I had a lot of fun with this one. [laughs] But it’s – it’s definitely a little bit outside of my style comfort zone with those eyeballs. I don’t know, they feel like they’re piercing my soul or something. It’s like something you’d find in, like, a thrift store, like the dolls… Like those dolls in the thrift store and they, like, stare at you. That’s the vibes I’m getting. But when I was filming this one, it definitely, uh, wasn’t entirely in frame. So… Yeah, let’s move on. [giggles] [transitional whoosh] Okay, so I’ve done my practice thing, I’ve got my paper, I got, I got some pens here, but I’m gonna be using this zig writer. It’s like a dark blue color. That way I don’t have to really, uh, worry about pressing too hard, and I could just sort of glide across the paper and not get any wrist cramps. But yeah, let’s – let’s start this out. I’m gonna do this properly this time and I’m gonna use a reference. Um, yeah, let’s just, yep, this is it. Okay. We’re just gonna start with the eyeball then and move some down there…uh the eyebrow. It kinda like pokes out a bit and, yeah, comes back around the eye. Uh.. The nose I guess is here, I don’t know the reference isn’t really that… [sighs] helpful. [laughs] Okay, like… Well, it’s helpful, like, obviously, but, like, I’m having a really hard time… measuring… the distances between, like, the nose and the eye, like, just looking at the reference. Because usually… Let me do this a ear here a second. [laughs] Usually when I draw I like to draw… and, like, well [laughs] it’s so hard to talk and do this at the same time, but [laughs] I usually like to, like, lay out my sketch on the paper, so really get a size and proportions of everything. I don’t know, this eye just… Aw man, uh… but [laughs] I like to get, like, a good sense of where the character or the subject is going to lay out on the page and then I can, you know, work from there. But with this… like, you’re stuck with one part of the drawing and then you have to work your way out of it..? Well, this bun’s turning out kind of cute. It’s not bad. Uhm… Let’s… I guess I could do the neck and, like, the shoulders. Oh this is kind of a fun line! I really enjoyed that part of like other – my previous sketches as well. Just like that, like, collarbone area is really fun, because it’s pretty defined, like, even in a photo. So, like, just creating the contour of those lines is really, really enjoyable for me personally. [giggles] Okay, and then the other shoulder’s over here and she’s kind of slouched a bit. So, like yeah, it would look… [softly] like this… Yeah. [laughs] I don’t know what else to say. Um, the reference. Actually the hand is up by her ear, but I’ve messed up already, so that’s not gonna happen. [laughs] Well, I can just give you some more collarbone then and, uhh… Yeah, just define those lines a bit… And this wisp. See how these, like, wisps that come out in front of her ear? I could do her hair, like, add some more detail to her hair? I don’t know, from what I’ve seen… These sort of exercises usually are pretty simple, but I need to practice hair anyway, so I think I can just do this and use this reference and try to follow the flow of the hair. This needs more bun. Yeah, I saw couple videos of people who’ve done this on, like, YouTube and, like, they’ll say, like, they drew for, like, a continuous amount of time, but I can’t seem to do more than, like, five minutes max. I don’t know how long I’ve been doing this so far, maybe, like, two minutes. But, like, I’m not sure what else to do at this point, so… I don’t know. I feel like I’m just drawing over the same lines. [laughs] Uhm… And I feel like her face needs a lot of work. I don’t really – I’m not in love with it with it. Not in love with it. I like sort of the sculpture-ness of the face? It looks sort of like it’s a sculpture to me. I kind of like that about it. But I’m not really in love with the actual shape of it, you know? If that makes any sense? It is so hard not to lift my pen, but I feel like I’m – I feel like I can lift it now. I don’t really know what else to do… [inhales sharply] Well, yeah, well… there we are. [unintelligible] but yeah, here is my first attempt at, like, using a reference. It’s not that bad, actually. I don’t know. I feel like it turned out better than, like, some of the ones I used without a reference. I wonder what would happen if I, like, put a paper on top of this? Oh, yeah, and you can, like, see what’s under it. What if I did this again? But let’s see if I can – maybe this would help me improve a bit, like, with my contour. What if I just – yeah, let’s just go over this again, maybe? and see if I can try and fix those things that I didn’t quite like about the first one and just, like, maybe fix the nose a bit, because I wasn’t – it doesn’t really look like the reference. Maybe I can get this to look closer to the reference. So, because now, like I was saying earlier… I like to have, like, a good layout of my sketch, so I know, like, the distance between everything. So now that that’s all kind of taken care of, what if I could, like, do a better job of these lines? Like, this is technically cheating, obviously… Uhh, this ear… Uhm… But I want to see – this is a little challenge for myself. I want to see if I can actually make it look a little better. I know, like, contours or a continuous line contour isn’t really about perfection or anything, but I don’t know. There’s this part inside me that just feels like I need to do better [giggles] Ooh, that shoulder… I don’t know what I did there with the tank top. That was kind of like a bad idea, but I can draw these collarbones, that’s fun! Let’s shade under there. I see this line, like, what I saw from, like, professional artists who do these contour drawings is that, like, any place that has, like, a shadow on the face? They’ll, like, outline that. So that’s kind of what I could try to do here. Maybe connect that eye to the… To the… What is that called? I did it already. But what is that called? It’s so hard to think and draw at the same time. I connected the eye to the ear with the cheek bone? Cheek bone! [laughs] That’s it, oh my gosh. I’m just gonna keep drawing and ignore that I tried – was trying to talk. I guess I can’t really edit this out, because then people would think that I picked up my pen. [sarcastically] So, that’s wonderful! Everything I say is going to be – can and will be used against me, I guess. [snickers] I wish I could make this face look better. I mean, it’s a pen so I can’t erase. I can only make it worse, really. But yeah, this is… I feel like… this is better, maybe? I don’t know. I kind of like them both in their own way. Like, I didn’t put as much detail into the second one and I kind of like that about it, that it’s, like, simple and it kind of looks like a wire that’s been wrapped around into, like, the shape of a human. Whereas the right one… Oop, that’s my phone… the right one looks like, you know, more of a sketch, if that makes any sense? Because I went over, like, the same lines over and over again. But yeah, I could do this again. Maybe I could even do better? What if I try to do… like the first one, but use the second one as, like, the sketch layer? And then… Maybe I can make it a little bit more stylized. Maybe this attempt’s the last. I don’t know, this is really going in a direction that I wasn’t expecting. But I’m kind of starting to have a little bit more fun now. Uhm, so yeah, let’s work on this eyeball again. This is definitely my favorite part. It’s just that eyebrow and that eyeball, like… And I think that’s obvious, because I think it looks the best in all three of these. Like, even this one, like, I think the best part is just that eyeball, but I want to get this nose right. If I just, I don’t know, simplify the shapes a bit more I can get the chin curve a little… I don’t know. It still is gonna, well… I don’t even know what I’m saying. You can’t even probably see anything, but… I tried to put the camera at, like, a different angle. So it’s actually angled towards my pen a little bit… I don’t know if that makes any sense. [laughs, then sighs loudly] Let’s just work on this ear. Hue… Uhh… Mhm Hmm. Yeah, the jawline… Those shoulders are hunched and then we have her collarbone… Yeah, the collarbone’s my favorite. Well, I said the eyeball is my favorite, but this collarbone is definitely a close second. I just enjoy the way those lines kind of, like, turn out. And then this bun… I feel like the hair is something that’s a little bit on the weaker side here. So let’s… Uhh… No, this isn’t getting any better, is it? [snickers] Yeah, I think I’m going to… Well, let’s just give her her tank top then and… then I can compare this to the one that’s under it. If it’s not obvious, I’m not like tracing, I’m trying to use the old one and like make it better. But yeah, I think that’s good enough for that. Yeah, let’s look at what the other one looked like. Did I improve at all? Okay, I definitely sort of, like, stylized it and made it a bit more like my style, the way I draw faces. And yeah, it definitely has less lines than, like, the second or the first one. That was the first, this is the second and that was the third attempt, in case I ever forget. But yeah, there we have it. This is actually a very interesting exercise! I feel like I’ve learned a lot about, like, collar bones. I’m just gonna throw that out there. Just looking at, like, the reference and, like, collar bones and then contouring them. Yeah, I definitely learned something, so that’s cool! Humm… [giggles] If nothing else, I’m definitely much more grateful for the ability to lift my hand off the… [snickers] Off the paper, so yeah. Now I’m just, like, very encouraged to just go draw normally somewhere else. Like, I’ve just got this sudden inspiration to do that. Anyway, these were my attempts to draw in cursive, as I call it, or a continuous line drawing. I definitely recommend this if you’re having trouble with references and, like, seeing the shapes in references. It’s definitely a good exercise for that. And yeah, I want to thank you guys for watching and I hope you all have delicious evening full of waffles! Bye! [Music coupled with cutlery sounds]

100 Replies to “ONE CONTINUOUS LINE! | Can you Draw in Cursive? | Drawing without lifting the Pen”

I find these easy to do because when you have done figure drawing before the 5 min sketches are similar to continuous line drawing. So if you approach the draw as a loose sketch you then refine. But people are so use to erasing they are prone to lift the pencil up anyway. If you draw with a pen it makes it allot easier. Longer more detailed drawings get harder because of fatigue more than anything though.

You may have seen him on instagram, but check out Kim Jung Gi . He does a type of no lift up style ( he lifts, but he does drawings from the inside or does weird placement where he'll start with the foot).

I’ve been watching A lot of your videos for the past few days. Then I realize IHaven’t subscribed yet so I did today. You have really inspired me to start drawing again. I haven’t regularly drawn since like high school which has been over five years ago now. But I want to get back to doing it because it was something I really loved and just hadn’t been really motivated to do so. So thank you! I love your videos and you have a very sweet personality.

Very fascinating to watch the progress and how there’s always room for improvement. Definitely the last one turned out better than the others but even the first one was better than anything i would be able to come up in a million years so.. nevermind. Love x

It's been almost 10 years since I have devoted any real time to my art. Your videos inspire me to pick up and try. It doesn't hve to be perfect, it just has to make me happy. So thanks to you, I'm now drawing and investing in my art for the first time in so long. Thank you so much <3

Hey, I was just wondering if you could maybe show a few of your references? I just thought maybe I could try to recreate some of your drawings in my own style? You've really helped me come a long way in my drawing skills!! Thanks, Amelia